Online Gamers at Work

Learn from the experiences of the founders of successful game companies. From taking risk to devoting their lives to their vision these founders recount their experiences in leading their companies to success in one of the world's most innovative and therefore brutal markets.

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Full Description

For nearly four decades, video games have captured the imaginations and drawn the ire of people around the world. Actors play them. Rappers promote them. Politicians want to control them. Even baseball legends make them. Video games are a cultural crossroads where business, entertainment, and technology converge.

Sales of video games, hardware, and accessories reach upwards of $20 billion every year in the United States alone, and more than two-thirds of American households include video games in their daily lives. In a world that seems to be overflowing with fortune and success, the vicious truth of this booming industry is easily forgotten: failure is tradition.

There are a few businesses that have withstood the test of time, but most startups exit as quickly as they enter the scene. Many firms are outpaced by the explosive worldwide growth and economic realities of the sector. In this groundbreaking anthology, successful founders of entertainment software companies reflect on the challenges and how they survived.

Online Gamers at Work:

Explores the formation of entertainment software companies from the perspectives of successful founders who defied the odds

Provides insight into why experienced professionals sacrifice the comfort of gainful employment for the uncertainty and risk of the startup

Shares the experiences and lessons that shape the lives, decisions, and struggles of entrepreneurs in this volatile business

Other books in the Apress At Work Series:

Coders at Work, Seibel, 978-1-4302-1948-4

Venture Capitalists at Work, Shah & Shah, 978-1-4302-3837-9

CIOs at Work, Yourdon, 978-1-4302-3554-5

CTOs at Work, Donaldson, Seigel, & Donaldson, 978-1-4302-3593-4

Founders at Work, Livingston, 978-1-4302-1078-8

European Founders at Work, Santos, 978-1-4302-3906-2

Women Leaders at Work, Ghaffari, 978-1-4302-3729-7

Advertisers at Work, Tuten, 978-1-4302-3828-7

Gamers at Work, Ramsay. 978-1-4302-3351-0

What youll learn

Lead and execute strategy as an entrepreneur

Develop meaningful, long-term business relationships

Recognize strategic opportunities and threats

Take the next step without compromising principles

Balance dreams with practical considerations

Avoid the pitfalls that can trigger disaster

Learn from mistakes and make informed course corrections

Enter with style and exit with grace

Who this book is for

Software professionals or managers, particularly those working in the video games industry